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- Title
Role of Wnt pathway in regulating infantile hemangioma stem cell phenotype.
- Authors
Stephenson, Steffi L.; Chan, Nancy G.; Khan, Zia A.
- Abstract
Introduction: Infantile hemangiomas are the most common vascular tumours of infancy, occurring predominantly in the head and neck region. Although benign, some may impinge on vital organs and cause life-threatening complications. Hemangiomas exhibit a unique lifecycle characterized early by proliferation of vascular endothelial cells followed by maturation of vessels and eventual regression into adipose tissue. In previous studies, we have shown that hemangiomas are derived from stem cells. Although the mechanisms regulating hemangioma stem cell phenotype are not known, a potential candidate may be the Wnt pathway which is evolutionarily conserved and plays a key role during development. As stem cell derivatives, hemangiomas phenotypically possess stem cell specific transcription factors SOX2, OCT4 and Nanog which are downregulated upon differentiation. Objective: In this study, we aimed to determine the role of Wnt/-catenin on the expression of stem cell-specific transcription factors. Methods: To achieve our goal, we modulated the Wnt/- catenin pathway in primary human hemangioma-derived stem cells. We then used sensitive and specific quantitative PCR to determine the expression of stem cell factors. Data and results: Our results show that activation of the Wnt/-catenin pathway increases the expression of all three stem cell specific transcription factors. Conclusion: These findings show that-catenin transcription activity is required for this function as degrading -catenin or inhibiting its binding to DNA prevented agonist-induced expression of stem cell factors. We are building on these exciting findings with the hope of developing treatments for accelerated differentiation of hemangioma stem cells.
- Publication
Canadian Journal of Pathology, 2016, Vol 8, p29
- ISSN
1918-915X
- Publication type
Article